Today we’ll tour the Blue Lick Battlefield (August 19, 1782), sometimes called the “Last Battle of the American Revolution.” Next we will visit several Underground Railroad sites in historic Washington, KY and Ripley OH, including the home of John Rankin one of Ohio's first and most active "conductors" on the Underground Railroad. Rankin’s account of a slave who escaped across the frozen Ohio River with a child in her arms was the inspiration of Harriett Beecher Stowe’s character Eliza in Uncle Tom's Cabin.

O/N Hilton Downtown Lexington Hotel, KY

Day 3, June 4 Lexington (B)

This morning, you will have the option of watching jockeys gallop their horses during morning workouts at Keeneland. A National Historic Landmark, many consider it the most beautiful racetrack in America. Today’s tour of Lexington will include visits to Ashland, the estate of “the Great Compromiser,” Henry Clay and the Kentucky Horse Park, an educational working farm that includes the International Museum of the Horse, an affiliate of the Smithsonian. We’ll end the day with a walking tour of the lovely Lexington Cemetery, the burial site of many notable Kentuckians including Henry Clay, John C. Breckinridge and John Hunt Morgan.O/N Hilton Downtown Lexington Hotel, KY

Day 4, June 5 Frankfort (B,L,D)

We will spend today exploring Frankfort with visits to the Old State Capitol, the Thomas D. Clark History Center, the Kentucky Military Museum, and Daniel Boone’s grave. We’ll tour the award winning Buffalo Trace Distillery before continuing towards Louisville. O/N Best Western, Shelbyville

Day 5, June 6 Louisville (B,L)

George Rogers Clark established Louisville in 1778. At his home, Locust Grove, we’ll learn story of Clark, early Kentucky history, western expansion, and everyday life on the frontier. We’ll tour the Louisville Slugger Museum, Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum.O/N Comfort Suites, Elizabethtown

Day 6, June 7 Lincoln’s Birthplace – Mammoth Cave NP (B,L,D)

We will begin the day with a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park in Hodgenville, KY. We will learn about the Battle of Munfordville where in August 1862 Confederates were able to wrest this vital railroad bridge from Federal troops hampering the movement of Union supplies and men. We will take a tour in Mammoth Cave National Park, the longest cave system known in the world. O/N Hampton Inn, Horse Cave, KY

Day 7, June 8 Tebb’s Bend - Mill Springs - Barbourville (B,L,D)

Today we will examine three civil war battles. The Battle of Tebb’s Bend was fought July 4, 1863 during Morgan’s Raid. Despite being badly outnumbered, 5 companies of the 25th Michigan Infantry successfully thwarted eight separate attacks by Confederate Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan's dismounted cavalry. At Mill Springs Battlefield (Jan 19, 1862), we’ll learn about the first Union victory in the western theater of the American Civil War. We'll stop in Cumberland Falls State Park for dinner at the River View restaurant. We will end the day in Barbourville, and make a brief stop at the site of the first Civil War engagement in Kentucky. In September 1861, Confederate troops destroyed a Federal recruiting station in Barbourville.

O/N Best Western Wilderness Road, Barboursville, KY

Day 8, June 9 Cumberland Gap - Camp Wildcat (B,L,D)

Start the day at Cumberland Gap National Park located where the borders of three states meet- Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. This route through the mountains long used by buffalo and Native Americans was widened in 1775 by Daniel Boone and a company of men. The Gap became the primary route for settlers moving west into Kentucky. We’ll journey north following parts of the Boone Trace to Camp Wildcat where we will meet members of the Camp Wildcat Preservation Foundation. O/N Boone Tavern Hotel, Berea

Day 9, June 10 White Hall - Mary Todd Lincoln House (B,L,D)

In Richmond, we will hear of Confederate Gen. Kirby Smith’s stunning one-sided victory in August 1862 in the Army of Kentucky’s attempt to establish a Confederate government in Kentucky. We will enjoy a private tour of White Hall, home of Cassius Marcellus Clay, a southern aristocrat and prominent anti-slavery crusader. We will pause in Lexington to tour the Mary Todd Lincoln House and then proceed to the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the largest restored Shaker community in the country. We will spend two nights at the Shaker Inn. This evening, we will hear a private lecture on the Shakers and the Civil War. O/N Shaker Inn at Pleasant Hill

Day 10, June 11 Battle of Perryville - Camp Nelson (B,L,D)

Today we will learn about the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862). Sometimes called the Battle for Kentucky, it was the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive. Though a victory for Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg over Gen. Beull’s Army of the Ohio, Bragg withdrew to Tennessee shortly thereafter. The Union retained control of the critical border state of Kentucky for the remainder of the war. In the afternoon, we will visit Camp Nelson, a union supply depot and the largest recruiting, mustering and training center for African American troops during the civil war. We will toast our adventure at tonight’s farewell dinner in the Trustee’s Office Dining Room. O/N Shaker Inn at Pleasant Hill

This morning we will tour the Shaker village. Our bus will depart Pleasant Hill at approximately 10:30 am for the 45-minute drive to the Lexington Airport. Please do not book your departing flight before 1:00 pm.

EXPERT GUIDE:

Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service, Edwin C. Bearss is an author, lecturer and America's foremost battlefield guide. Ed's encyclopedic knowledge and unflagging energy is legendary; Ed brings history alive like no other. Two of his recent books are Fields of Honor and Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg – The Campaigns that Changed the Civil War.

KENTUCKY PROGRAM INCLUDES:
* Service of an Historian Guide: Ed Bearss is scheduled to lead this program
* Service of a Tour Manager: Marty Gane is scheduled to manage this tour
* 10 nights hotel accommodations
* one wine/beer welcome reception; 10 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 7 dinners
* all taxes, baggage handling and gratuities; pre-trip notes, reading list and map book

To enroll on this tour, print & complete the registration form and mail it with a $200 per person deposit check to: South Mountain Expeditions, P.O. Box 204, Keedysville, MD, 21756. Or call us at (301) 988-1852 or toll free at 1 (866) 914-1862. We accept VISA, Mastercard and American Express.